


A Show To Remember

by toomanyunfinishedfics



Category: Persona 5
Genre: (for December/final P5 Vanilla palace), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Heroes & Villains, Doesn’t Realize They’re In Love And Keeps Thinking It’s Some Kind Of Disease, Enemies to Lovers, Falls In Love When They Are Beaten By Someone Else, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drugging and Assault, Insomuch as Pegoryu can possibly be Enemies to Lovers lmao, It's based off of that one heroes & villains prompt, Kind-of-Enemies to Friends-with-obvious-crushes-on-one-another lol, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nothing's written out though it's just the aftermath, So it's less Enemies to Lovers and more, Spoilers, Time Loop, Werewolf!Ryuji, Would Destroy The World For One Person, where the hero shows up at the villain's doorstep asking for help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:40:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24948580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toomanyunfinishedfics/pseuds/toomanyunfinishedfics
Summary: No matter the circumstances of their first meeting, Akira and Ryuji will always find themselves by each other's sides in the end.(A collection of 8 separate one-shots)
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Sakamoto Ryuji, Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 52
Kudos: 152





	1. College/Uni AU

**Author's Note:**

> Well, now that Souyo week is over, it's time to move on to celebrating Ryuji's upcoming birthday for the next week lmao
> 
> I wrote these fanfic trope-based prompt fics a little while back (way before I wrote the Akeshu ones, actually lmao) and I wasn't really planning on posting them, but I figured since I didn't have anything specific to post for Ryuji's birthday and since Pegoryu week isn't until August, I might as well just turn Ryuji's birthday into a week-long celebration with a bunch of random Pegoryu one-shots lol;; Hopefully everyone will enjoy them ;u;
> 
> ~~Also the title is taken from a line from Take Over because I'm terrible at coming up with titles asdkfj~~

“Dude, I am  _ so _ fucked.”

Akira glanced up from his textbook to find Ryuji, laying upside-down over the side of his bed, appearing just about as miserable as he sounded as he looked over at Akira in defeated acceptance.

“Studying’s not going well, I take it?” Akira asked wryly, turning slightly in his seat to properly face his roommate.

Ryuji let out a loud groan in lieu of a response, sliding the rest of the way off of the bed until he was lying in a heap on the floor.

With a hint of amusement, Akira shook his head slightly and rose to his feet, clearing the small distance between them so he could crouch down and help Ryuji into something almost resembling a sitting position, insomuch as his friend’s limp body would allow.

“Ryuji,” Akira began (and he couldn’t help the quick flash of endearment that rushed through him as Ryuji immediately gave him his full attention from just the single utterance, despite his own clear exhaustion), “you’re going to do just fine, I  _ know _ you will. Your grades have been improving in leaps and bounds lately--you got an A on your last midterm, remember?”

Ryuji’s cheeks heated up in the slightest hint of a blush, even as he frowned and replied, “That was the midterm, though. The final’s gonna be like…  _ way _ harder, dude. I don’t know if I can do it.”

“Well  _ I _ know that you can do it,” Akira responded without a moment’s hesitance, smiling slightly as Ryuji averted his gaze in embarrassment. “Want me to quiz you? I don’t know if I’ll be much help with reviewing anything, but I can look over your notes with you too if you’d like.”

Ryuji looked back over at him in a mixture of surprised alarm and the slightest hint of hope. “But your final--”

“--isn’t for another two days,” Akira quickly cut him off, giving Ryuji a reassuring smile. “Yours is tomorrow, right? So let’s just focus on yours tonight, and you can pay me back tomorrow by letting me practice another one of my boring speeches on you.”

Akira could see the moment when Ryuji caved, guilt and hesitance giving way to grateful acceptance as he let out a soft laugh and shook his head slightly.

“Dude, your speeches are  _ not _ boring--I could listen to you talk for hours.” As soon as his words caught up with him, Ryuji immediately blushed a bright red and hastily added, “I-I mean, ‘cuz, y’know, the speeches are interesting ‘n’ stuff.”

“‘Interesting and stuff’, the highest of praise,” Akira replied teasingly. “I hope my professor is just as kind with his review as you are.”

“Oh shut up, smartass.” Ryuji gave Akira a light shove, unable to help the grin that tugged at the corners of his lips as Akira laughed in response. “Are you gonna help me out or what?”

Akira raised an eyebrow. “Sure, once we actually move off the floor.”

Ryuji let out a groan of mock-annoyance even as he pushed himself up off the floor, just enough for him to plop himself back down onto his bed, lying down and staring up at the ceiling as he drawled, “Happy now?”

“Very,” Akira replied with a smile, getting up and reaching for Ryuji’s abandoned study materials before taking a seat next to him on the bed. “I’ll ask you questions, and mark off whichever ones you can’t answer so we can go over them afterwards. Sounds good?”

“Yeah, sounds good to me.” Ryuji pushed himself up into a sitting position, meeting Akira’s gaze despite his embarrassment as he said, “And, uh… for real, thanks for this. I’d seriously be screwed right now without you, so… I’m really glad you’ve got my back.”

“Of course I do,” Akira replied with a small smile, affectionately bumping his shoulder against Ryuji’s. “Just like you’ve always had mine.”

Ryuji grinned, returning the gesture before sitting up straight and turning slightly to better face Akira, his determination bolstered by Akira’s support and clear confidence in his abilities. “Alright, now lay those questions on me!”

Akira chuckled, hiding his fondly amused expression behind the sheets of paper in his hand.

Even now, years after their first meeting in high school, Ryuji’s earnest simplicity never failed to make Akira smile.

“Okay,” he replied simply, already beginning to feel Ryuji’s enthusiasm fueling his own determination as his smile widened into a grin.

“Let’s start.”


	2. Would Destroy The World For One Person

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for all the shorter drabbles, I promise prompt 8 will make up for it in the end skldfj that one's almost double the length of prompts 1-7 combined lmao;; Hopefully the content at least makes up for the lack of length ;u;

If there was one thing that Ryuji quickly realized upon becoming friends with Akira, it was that he would do anything for him.

Literally  _ anything _ .

The thought would have freaked him out if it didn’t feel so  _ natural _ , like his entire life had been leading up to the moment where he found himself by Akira’s side, with Akira’s gaze on him, filled to the brim with pure, unadulterated  _ trust _ . When Akira looked at him like that, Ryuji felt like he could move mountains, could reach up and steal the stars right out of the sky with ease.

If Akira ever asked him to do something, he’d drop everything and run to his side in a heartbeat. Not that he had much to occupy his time to begin with aside from Akira and Phantom Thief business, but his point still stood: no matter when, no matter where, no matter  _ what _ , Ryuji would gladly do whatever his leader asked of him, with no hesitation nor question.

His job wasn’t to question things, anyway--he was a fighter, not a thinker. He knew where his worth (if he even had that much) lay, and he trusted Akira’s judgement without a single ounce of doubt.

So no matter what Akira asked of him, he would do it.

Fighting shadows? Of course.

Putting his life on the line to change people’s hearts? Gladly.

Continuing to fight while Japan--and pretty much the whole world--was against them?

Well.

If the world wanted to try and take Akira on, they were going to have to get through him first--and if he had to take down every last person that stood between Akira and his goals, then so be it.


	3. Mutual Pining

Ann was suffering.

Not because anything was wrong with  _ her _ , per se--no, it was because she was friends with the two most thickheaded, oblivious idiots on the face of this planet.

Akira and Ryuji were so obviously into each other that it almost physically  _ hurt _ to watch them dancing around one another, all shy glances and flustered grins and text messages to her at three in the morning over how amazing and perfect the other was--because god knows that they couldn’t have their gay crises at a  _ normal _ hour, perish the thought--all while bemoaning the fact that the other was completely unattainable, much to Ann’s frustration.

Akira was convinced that Ryuji was completely straight, a total bro, no-homo and all that--which, okay, Ann could see where he was coming from with that, but at the same time Ryuji was so painfully  _ obvious _ about his crush on Akira that it was a wonder how Ryuji hadn’t already just blurted out his feelings by accident by now.

Yet somehow, even if Ryuji  _ did _ do something like that (which,  _ come on Ryuji _ , how can someone be so tight-lipped about such a stupid little secret like a crush and yet be constantly coming close to getting them arrested by blurting out Phantom Thieves-related comments at the absolute _worst_ times?), Ann had a feeling that Akira would probably just write it off as a platonic statement and wouldn’t even consider the possibility of it being anything more than that.

Stupid, stubborn, oblivious Akira. Ann didn’t think there was anyone worse than Ryuji, but  _ god _ , for someone so seemingly perfect, Akira could be a real dense idiot sometimes.

In Ryuji’s case, it was less a case of sexuality--because unlike Ryuji, Akira was pretty open about swinging every way possible--and more a matter of Ryuji’s own lack of self-confidence, which  _ almost _ made Ann feel bad… except for the fact that it was  _ so obvious _ that Akira liked him back, and that he wasn’t as unattainable as Ryuji was making him out to be. Seriously, it was like Ryuji had Akira on such a high pedestal that it was almost unhealthy, as if Ryuji believed that he was already lucky enough just getting to be Akira’s friend that hoping for anything more was completely out of the question.

And yeah, Ann could kind of get the whole “Akira is  _ way _ out of my league” mindset, since Akira  _ did _ feel like some sort of unattainable deity with how smart and talented and charming he was, but at the same time… knowing how huge of a crush Akira had on Ryuji made it impossible to believe that Akira would ever end up dating anyone else.

Still, there was only so much she could do without spilling the beans to each of them about their mutual feelings towards each other on their behalf, which--good intentions or not--would be breaking the trust that they both put in her when they confided everything to her, so the only option she had was to continue supporting her two stupidly oblivious friends from the sidelines.

… As well as pray to every god in existence for them to just _kiss already_ \--if only so she could go back to having a normal sleep schedule, without staying up all night listening to two people pining for each other in two separate private chats.


	4. Doesn’t Realize They’re In Love And Keeps Thinking It’s Some Kind Of Disease

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I'd never even heard of this trope until I was looking at the bingo card sdalkfj but it gave me an excuse to write Ryuji being adorably oblivious, so I'm not complaining lmao

Ryuji fidgeted nervously, hemming and hawing in his mind before finally deciding to bite the bullet, no matter how guilty he felt.

“Ma, I think… I think I need to go to the doctor.”

He knew the last thing his mother needed was to be concerned about his health (not to mention adding a doctor’s bill on top of everything else that she was already struggling to pay for them), but if this was some sort of serious disease, it would be stupid of him to not get it checked out before it could get any worse.

“The doctor?” Immediately, he saw the worry in his mother’s gaze as she turned to look at him, and the guilt gripped him just as quickly, turning and twisting his stomach until he almost found himself retracting his statement. “Ryu, honey, what’s wrong? Is it…?”

For a moment, he wasn’t sure what she meant--but as soon as her gaze drifted down, realization quickly hit him, and he hastily replied, “No, no, my leg’s fine! It ain’t that, I promise.” He hesitated for a moment before adding, “I just… I haven’t been feeling too good lately, ‘s all.”

Still clearly concerned, Ryuji’s mother stepped closer to him, putting a hand to his forehead with a frown. “It doesn’t feel like you have a fever, at least….”

“That’s just it, though!” Ryuji blurted out. “It’s like-- sometimes I feel like my body’s on fire and I’m gonna pass out, but then later I’ll be totally fine!”

Mrs. Sakamoto blinked, her worry replaced with a gradually-dawning realization as she asked, “And what else do you feel, sweetie?”

“Uh… oh, like, uh… my heart starts pounding outta nowhere? Like it did whenever I’d go on a long run, except whenever it happens I’m not running??” Ryuji looked at his mother in a mixture of confusion and distress. “You don’t think there’s something wrong with my heart, do you? Shit, maybe I pushed myself too much back when I was doing track?? Can that happen?”

It took every last ounce of willpower for Mrs. Sakamoto to keep from laughing, instead managing to repress her amusement into a small, reassuring smile as she replied, “Ryu, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your heart, and I don’t think you need to go to a doctor, either.”

“Huh?” Ryuji blinked, clearly bewildered by his mother’s sudden lack of concern. “But… but then what’s wrong with me?”

“When did you first notice your body reacting like this?” she asked instead, giving Ryuji pause as his brows furrowed in thought.

When  _ had _ it started, anyway? Maybe… around the time they first went into the Metaverse?

Not like he could tell his mom that, of course, but-- wait, shit, was this a Metaverse thing, then? Was it doing something weird to his body?

No, if that was the case then wouldn’t Akira and Ann both be having the same problem as him? So maybe that wasn’t it, but… it definitely started around when he and Akira first stumbled into Kamoshida’s Palace, so it had to have  _ something _ to do with that, right?

“Uh… I guess around when I first met Akira?” Ryuji responded vaguely, figuring that was a safe enough answer to give without slipping up about anything Phantom Thieves-related.

“‘Akira’, hm… is that the new transfer student you mentioned to me before? What’s he like?” she asked, knowing fully well the answer even before she saw Ryuji’s face light up.

“He’s, like, the coolest guy I know-- he’s crazy smart, and super nice, too?? Like he’s always going out of his way to help me out and even just to hang out ‘n’ stuff, and he keeps offering to pay whenever we go out to eat, and he told me he wanted to go see this movie that just came out but he said he was totally cool with waiting to see it so we could go together, and--”

Again, it took all of Mrs. Sakamoto’s willpower to keep from laughing--yet at the same time, her heart went out to poor Akira, who was quite obviously trying to win over her oblivious son. At least Akira seemed like a good, kind young man, one that she was willing to trust not to break her son’s heart once Ryuji finally realized his feelings.

For now, however, she was merely content with watching over Ryuji’s growth--blind as he may be to the matters of his own heart--as she observed her son returning to the bright, happy young boy he’d been before the cruel adults of the world had broken his spirit and taken his dreams away.


	5. Fantasy AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to write this one made me realize that as much as I love reading fantasy AU fics, I have a really hard time coming up with my own and writing them myself asdklfj so I apologize in advance for the short chapter, all my brain was able to produce for a fantasy AU was "wolf puppy Ryuji" with no other context or plot lmao;;;

Akira knew that there was something off about Ryuji. What that something was, he had no clue, but there was  _ something _ that constantly nagged at the back of his mind every time they were together.

In retrospect, it really should have been obvious: after all, he himself had even joked about how Morgana and Ryuji bickered like cats and dogs, and all of Ryuji’s reactions were always so  _ expressive _ that he’d often made the mental comparison to a hyper puppy whenever he looked at his best friend.

Actually expecting Ryuji to be a werewolf, though? That was pretty low on the list of conclusions Akira could have ever drawn, even considering the fact that his own soul was magically bound to a talking black cat. Not that Akira blamed Ryuji for hiding it, considering how the general public was wary of magical creatures of any kind, but he’d at least hoped that Ryuji would have realized by now that he wouldn’t have any sort of negative reaction to discovering such a huge secret.

Werewolf or not, Ryuji was still Ryuji--his best friend, someone that Akira adored more than anyone or anything in the world--and nothing would ever change that.

(Plus, his wolf form was  _ adorable _ . Not that that was saying much, since Akira always thought his sunny, energetic friend was adorable, but his point still stood.)

At least Ryuji was quick to calm down, once Akira assured him that it was okay, he wasn’t mad at him for hiding it, and he didn’t care if Ryuji was human or a werewolf or anything at all--which then led to their current position, one that Akira wasn’t complaining about in the least.

Morgana was going to be  _ so _ annoyed with him for coming home with wolf fur all over him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, not when Ryuji’s fur was so soft and fluffy and his tail was wagging in a clear mixture of relief and joyfulness as Akira hugged him and pet him and--

Well, it really should have been impossible for Ryuji to get any cuter than he already was, yet here they were, sitting in the middle of Ryuji’s bedroom with Ryuji’s wolf form draped over his lap like an oversized puppy as Akira ran his fingers through his fur in an even, repetitive motion that seemed to relax Ryuji’s body as much as it turned his tail into a portable fan with how fast it was moving.

Akira could certainly get used to this, odd as it was--and if Ryuji’s clear reluctance to move off of him as he leaned his head against Akira’s hand was any indication, apparently Ryuji felt just the same.


	6. Time Loop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we go from fluffy wolf puppy to Angst, sorry not sorry asdkjf
> 
> I'm honestly surprised that I've managed to get creative enough between my original Pegoryu NG+/time loop fic, my P4 NG+/time loop one shot, my unposted P4 NG+ WIP, the two separate NG+ and time loop prompts in the Akeshu fanfic trope bingo fic, and this time loop prompt to be able to come up with something original for each one sdlkfj;; I guess that just goes to show how much I love these kinds of fanfic tropes lmao
> 
> Keep in mind the warnings for this chapter! There's spoilers for the final P5 Vanilla palace in December, and there's also mentions of major character death;; ;_;

It was the… eighteenth time, now? Nineteenth, maybe?

Far too many times--and each one, a worse failure than the last.

He was starting to become numb to the sight of Ryuji’s dead body. Starting to become numb to everything, really. He’d been desperate and reckless up to loop number ten, but after that… things started to blur, helplessness taking the place of foolhardy determination as he began running out of ideas.

Saving Ryuji was the key--he knew that, he knew stopping Ryuji from sacrificing himself in order to save them all from dying in Shido’s collapsing Palace was all he needed to do to move forward, and yet… it was easier said than done. Every time, he was brought back to the previous day, with only 24 hours to try and think of a plan that would ultimately lead to nothing but the same result.

As if Ryuji’s repeated deaths weren’t enough, he was getting sick and tired of Shido’s face. And Shido’s voice, and Shido’s  _ goddamn five forms _ . Of all the Palace rulers to be stuck in a loop against, it  _ had _ to be the most obnoxiously-long one to fight. That certainly wasn’t making it any easier for Akira to figure out a way to save Ryuji.

Avoiding the Palace entirely was out of the question, unfortunately. If they didn’t attempt to steal Shido’s treasure now, then they would all be as good as dead regardless. There also was no way to prevent the premature collapsing of Shido’s Palace, and even killing Shido’s Shadow before he could disappear--done only once, out of pure desperation--did nothing but speed the process along even further and damn them even quicker.

Which was good, in retrospect, because seeing the look of betrayal on his friends’ faces… even if that  _ had _ happened to work, it wasn’t the kind of ending Akira wanted to reach.

It was only when Ryuji lowered the lifeboat for them yet again--was about to lose his life to the incoming explosion yet again--that Akira was hit with a sudden burst of insane inspiration.

In order to escape this loop, someone had to die.

If he didn’t want that person to be Ryuji, then… there was only one other choice.

The sounds of everyone’s startled shouts as he summoned Arsène and jumped out of the lifeboat were nothing but white noise at the furthest edges of Akira’s awareness, his entire focus honed in on Ryuji’s body hanging onto the lever above the water as Arsène flew Akira up towards him.

A little closer… just a  _ little bit closer _ \--!!

In the split-second that Akira had left after knocking Ryuji away from the lever, he watched with a relieved smile as Ryuji fell safely down to the lifeboat, before the flames consumed him as everything turned black.

Finally, he could rest.

* * *

Ryuji shot up in bed, letting out a string of curses as he pounded his fist against his bedroom wall, tears of frustration stinging his eyes.

Again… again Akira had saved him, had died to save Ryuji.

Another failure in a long list of attempts--but this time… he swore that this time, he would do it for sure.

No matter what it took, he would save Akira.

Even if it cost him his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Bonus points to whoever knows what the inspiration for this time loop idea was, because I'm honestly curious if anyone even remembers it asldkfj it came out like almost 10 years ago I think so it's been a while~~


	7. Falls In Love When They Are Beaten By Someone Else

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to P5's own sunshine boy!! ;u; <333
> 
> In honor of Ryuji's birthday, have a heroes & villains AU fic where Joker gets his ass kicked by Skull and subsequently realizes he is very, very gay lmao

Skull was gorgeous.

It was probably an odd, completely random realization to come to after playing cat and mouse with Skull for so long, but as he stared--beaten and bloody and a bit lightheaded--up at the hero standing opposite to him, all he could think was how  _ breathtaking _ Skull looked in the dim alleyway lighting, with the moonlight making his blond hair look almost angelic in stark contrast to his dark outfit dirtied with sweat and grime from their (admittedly unexpected) brawl.

Or maybe Akira just had a concussion, who knows. After all, even just one hit from Skull had him seeing stars, let alone taking repeated blows.

Still, while a concussion might explain the sudden, nonsensical yet almost poetic thoughts floating through his dazed mind, it certainly wouldn’t explain the pounding of his heart when Skull’s irritated expression seemed to soften in a hint of concern as he looked down at him, as if he were actually  _ worried _ about Akira despite being the one to thoroughly kick his ass to begin with.

(Not that Akira couldn’t have beaten Skull on a normal day, of course. He just hadn’t been prepared to run into him all of a sudden, nor had he expected Skull to jump to conclusions and start attacking him thinking that he was being ambushed--though he couldn’t exactly blame the hero, considering how Akira was one of the most well-known villains in town, and the villain who most often got away from Skull and his usual group of teammates.)

It wasn’t the first time he’d found himself fighting against Skull--sometimes losing, most times winning--so what, exactly, was so different about this moment? Why was he suddenly feeling so flustered under Skull’s sharp gaze? It wasn’t any different than all the other times he and his teammates were carefully watching his every move--

Ah.

Skull’s teammates weren’t here.

Here, there was only the two of them, a one-on-one match that had gone completely in Skull’s favor--and for some reason, Akira even found  _ that _ realization attractive, the thought that Skull was powerful enough to face him down single-handedly and  _ win _ without his teammates holding him back.

If only Skull would join him, instead… god, they would be  _ invincible _ . With Akira’s brains and Skull’s brawn, no one would even be able to come  _ close _ to touching them.

The thought of fighting side-by-side with Skull instead of on opposing teams was an appealing one, though he knew that it was a pipe dream at best--after all, Skull was fiercely loyal to his team, and just as strongly distrusted anyone on the opposite side of the law.

(It didn’t matter that the work Akira did helped save people’s lives: putting on a show to keep the public’s attention on him, to give the people a face and name to despise even as he secretly brought to light the true villains working behind the scenes, hidden from the public’s eye, through his flashy heists. It was the closest someone like him could get to being a hero, even if he knew he would never be recognized as such.)

Akira was pulled from his thoughts by the sight of Skull opening his mouth, as if to say something--only for him to close it, open again, and close it with a frustrated huff before digging his hand into one of his pockets.

“Here.”

Akira just barely had enough awareness left to catch the small roll of bandages that Skull tossed to him, unable to help the bewildered expression that worked its way onto his normally-impassive (or smugly smirking, depending on the occasion) face as he glanced between the bandages in his hand and Skull’s irritated look.

“Just-- just take that, and… stop causing trouble ‘n’ shit, alright?”

Was it just the lighting, or were the tips of Skull’s ears turning pink?

Oh no.

Oh, this was not good. Not good at  _ all _ .

Skull was cute enough on a regular day, but _this?_ How was Akira supposed to handle this? He was already feeling close to passing out, and this time he was almost positive it wasn’t from his injuries.

Kicking his ass, and then showing him kindness on top of that, in that gruff, adorable way of his? It was too much for Akira to handle.

Even as he stared blankly at Skull’s retreating form as he stormed off, grumbling to himself in clear embarrassment, there was no stopping the realization once it worked its way into Akira’s dazed mind:

Akira had it  _ bad _ .


	8. Enemies to Lovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How does one turn Pegoryu, an inherently friends-to-lovers ship, into enemies-to-lovers? Apparently the answer is you don't because Akira and Ryuji always end up becoming soft for each other at record speeds even when they're on opposite sides of the law lmao;;;
> 
> This fic takes place in the same universe as yesterday's prompt (chapter 7), so if you haven't read that one first then I'd suggest giving it a read, since I reference it a bit in this fic! Also in case anyone hasn't read the tags, there's a small warning for implied/referenced drugging and assault in this chapter ;_; Nothing's written out in detail, and it's more about Akira helping Ryuji in the aftermath, but I figured I would give a proper warning just in case;;
> 
> ~~Also this one is basically double the length of all the other fanfic trope prompt fics that I wrote, so hopefully that makes up for the shorter length of the other fics lmao~~

The last thing that Akira expected, as he heard light yet frantic banging at his apartment door at almost two in the morning on a Sunday, was to open his door and find Skull standing outside.

His first thought was to question how Skull had found where he lived before realizing: a) Oracle had probably tracked down his location at some point or another (which was a bit concerning, but apparently not too much of a problem if no one on their team had broken down his door to arrest him yet), and much more importantly b) there was something very, _very_ wrong with Skull.

Firstly, he was dressed in citizen’s clothing without his mask--and Akira had only recognized him at first glance because of how often and how closely he’d found himself observing Skull after their one-on-one altercation a few weeks prior, combined with simply knowing him as well as he did after months upon months of repeated encounters--which wouldn’t have been as alarming if it wasn’t for the fact that he was bruised and covered in blood and shaking like a leaf. To make matters worse, Skull’s eyes looked glossy and unfocused, and combining that with the small dots of dried blood on the side of his neck….

Akira felt a cold, seething _rage_ bubbling up inside of him at the state that Skull was in, and he only just barely managed to shove the feelings down before he accidentally scared the exhausted, trembling hero off.

“What happened?” Akira asked instead, reaching out slowly in a careful attempt not to alarm him until he had Skull’s arms in a gentle grip to steady him as he guided him into the apartment. “Where are your teammates?”

“ ‘lone,” Skull slurred, stumbling slightly as he blindly let Akira lead him inside. “Didn’… couldn’….” His brows furrowed in frustration, before relaxing slightly as Akira gave his arms a feather-light squeeze in an absentminded gesture of reassurance. “Trans-- transmitter broke. Couldn’ contact-- can’t remember where….”

“You relocated your hideout recently?” Akira asked softly, reaching around Skull to close and lock the door behind them while keeping his other hand on Skull’s arm.

It wasn’t too much of a surprise, given what he knew about Skull’s team: given how well-known they were, there was something of an unspoken bounty on them in the underground, forcing them to keep changing their hideout locations periodically in order to avoid any villains locating and ambushing them.

Apparently they hadn’t done a good enough job, however, if Skull had gotten caught regardless.

Skull gave what Akira could only assume was a nod, but looked more like his head bobbing in exhaustion--honestly, it was a miracle that Skull had managed to find his way to Akira at all in the state he was in.

Any further questions could wait until Skull’s injuries were taken care of, and until he slept off whatever drug (a sedative to dull his strength, perhaps?) that he’d been injected with.

Still, there was one last thing that he needed to know, a burning query that he couldn’t wait any longer to know the answer to.

“Why would you come here, of all places?”

Fleeing to a villain’s apartment after being drugged and beaten… either Skull was more out of it than he thought, or--

“Didn’ know where else t’ go,” Skull mumbled dazedly, swaying on his feet--and Akira had only a second to realize that Skull’s body was at its limits before the hero’s legs gave out on him, Akira’s reflexes quickly kicking in as he caught Skull in his arms before his injured body could hit the ground.

The implicit trust in his statement--that Akira was the first person he thought to turn to for help, despite being on opposite sides of the law--swelled Akira’s heart just as much as the sight of Skull’s labored breathing broke it, and he lifted the half-conscious hero into his arms with only the slightest bit of difficulty so he could carry him off to the bedroom.

“Well, you’re safe now,” Akira replied, the reassurance feeling almost laughable yet somehow completely genuine--he honestly had no intentions of harming Skull: not while they were facing one another as hero and villain, nor now that Skull was here, completely vulnerable in his home and in his arms. “Rest.”

As if having been waiting for permission, Skull’s eyes immediately drifted closed in response, the lingering tension and trembling in his body fading away as he drifted off into a much-needed sleep, his head lolling to the side and coming to rest against Akira’s chest.

The sight was about as heartwarming as it was concerning.

Of course, he was flattered that Skull trusted him, but he sincerely hoped that Skull wasn’t naive enough to let his guard down like this around anyone else. After all, Akira _was_ still a villain, and could very easily do any number of unspeakable things to Skull right now--hell, he could take out his knife and kill Skull in his sleep if he really wanted to.

Not that he _did_ , of course--he’d meant it when he said that Skull was safe here--but the fact of the matter still stood, and he was grateful that Skull hadn’t gone knocking on any other villains’ doors looking for help in his muddled state. Not to mention how grateful he was for the fact that Skull had even made it to his apartment in one piece without getting caught by anyone else, though his civilian outfit might have helped with that, at least.

Letting out a quiet, fondly exasperated sigh, Akira gently set Skull down on his bed before going to get his first aid kit, in hopes of tending to the worst of Skull’s wounds before he woke back up.

* * *

When Ryuji awoke late in the afternoon the next day, it was with a sense of panicked disorientation that immediately grew upon seeing his unfamiliar surroundings.

What the hell _happened_ last night?

He took a few moments to try and steady his breathing, absentmindedly moving a hand up to grip his head and grimacing at the soreness in his body.

Okay, so he’d had the day off and had gone out to grab a bite to eat--nothing out of the ordinary so far--and then… what happened after that?

There was a brief flash of recollection, of a cloth covering his mouth and something being stabbed into the side of his neck, and--

Shakily, Ryuji moved his hand down to his neck, cursing under his breath as he felt the scabbed-over wounds to match the fuzzy memory. Right, he’d gotten ambushed and drugged by those goddamn cultists.

God, Queen was going to _kill_ him for letting his guard down that badly.

Okay, so that answered the question of what the hell happened to him, at least, but not why he was laying in some stranger’s bed, and--wait, was he wearing someone else’s _pajamas_ , too? What the hell?

There was obviously something he was missing, here… how had he gone from being captured by the cultists to sleeping in someone’s bed?

They’d roughed him up pretty badly, he vaguely remembered--a quick, cursory glance down at himself showed that all of his injuries had been tended to with surprising expertise--but he’d managed to catch them off-guard enough to break free of the restraints they’d forced onto him and make his escape, and he’d tried to contact the team but the cultists had broken both his transmitter and his phone when they were kicking the crap out of him (he was just glad that they hadn’t thought to steal them from him instead, otherwise _Oracle_ would’ve killed him before Queen could even get to him). He hadn’t been able to remember where their new hideout was, but he’d somehow managed to recognize the area he was in even in his drugged state, and he vaguely recalled that someone he knew lived close by, so….

Wait.

Wait a fucking second.

No way.

There was _no way_ that Ryuji had done what he thought he’d done--no way that this was where he was beginning to suspect it was.

Ignoring his body’s protests, Ryuji threw the sheets off of himself and practically jumped out of the bed, scrambling out of the bedroom and further into the foreign apartment only to find himself face-to-face with a gorgeous, almost scarily-familiar young man his age, standing in the kitchen and looking over at him with an expression that quickly went from surprised to pleased.

“Good morning,” he greeted, before adding with a hint of amusement, “or good evening, rather. I take it you slept well?”

Ryuji’s mouth opened and closed as he tried desperately to piece together who this person was and why he was so familiar (even if part of his mind _knew_ exactly where he’d run to last night, exactly whose arms he’d collapsed into in a mixture of exhaustion and sheer relief--)

Raising an eyebrow, the young man watched him with a hint of barely-repressed mirth as he asked, “What’s wrong?” Lowering his glasses slightly, he gave Ryuji a familiar smirk as he added, “Cat got your tongue? Or are you just that blown away, seeing me up close and personal like this?”

Ah.

Yep, that was him alright--as much as he wanted to deny it, there was no mistaking that smug, infuriating ~~ly attractive~~ smirk.

So of course, Ryuji let his mouth get ahead of his brain as he reflexively blurted out the first exclamation that came to mind.

“What the hell are _you_ doing here?!”

Joker raised an eyebrow, looking as if he was just barely restraining laughter as he replied slowly, “Skull, I _live_ here.”

Ryuji could feel the chagrined heat slowly rising up from the bottom of his neck to the tips of his ears, and he hastily stammered out, “W-well then, what the hell am _I_ doing here?” Immediately realizing how stupid the question sounded even to his own ears, he quickly added, “Like… why did you let me stay? You’re a _villain_.”

“And you’re the hero that came to a villain for help,” Joker quipped smoothly, as if Ryuji wasn’t mortified enough as it was--but before Ryuji could try and scramble for some sort of excuse, Joker’s expression softened slightly as he continued. “I wouldn’t have thrown you out, especially not when you came to me in such bad shape. ‘Villain’ or not, I’m not heartless.”

Ryuji hesitated for a moment, his gaze shifting away in embarrassment as he murmured, “I know.”

Of course Ryuji knew that, even if it felt wrong to admit even to himself--villains were _bad_ , they were cruel, corrupt, selfish people that hurt others for their own gain, and yet… he knew Joker wasn’t like all the other villains Ryuji and his teammates went after. They crossed paths plenty of times, and they ended up fighting more often than Ryuji could even count, but in the end Joker had never actually _hurt_ anyone. In all honesty, Joker had actually helped them more often than he’d hindered them, stealing from people that they often didn’t even realize were rotten scumbags until Oracle did a background check whenever they went to return the stolen goods.

Oracle had started doing a lot of background checks for any cases involving Joker, after the very first one had revealed a deep-seated corruption that had gone completely under their radar.

So even though Joker was on the opposite side of the law--and even if Joker was an irritating, smug bastard--there was an unspoken agreement among Ryuji and his teammates that as far as villains went, Joker was probably the most trustworthy and reliable one out there.

Of course, he wasn’t about to say any of that to Joker’s face, though. He’d already risked enough as it was, letting himself be seen in civilian’s clothes and indebting himself to Joker.

Even just agreeing with Joker’s sincere statement was dangerous, though it was admittedly well worth it to see the look of genuine surprise on Joker’s face, followed quickly by a warm smile that certainly did _not_ make Ryuji’s face grow any hotter than it already was.

“Come sit down,” Joker invited, changing the subject as he gestured to the island bar in the middle of the kitchen. “I’m almost finished cooking, and I’m sure you’re starving by now.”

As if on cue, Ryuji’s stomach growled loudly--and he immediately let out a groan in response as he covered his face, his embarrassment not at all helped by Joker’s light laughter. In all honesty, the sound was more pleasant and friendly than mocking, and Ryuji inwardly found himself enjoying it despite his mortification, not that he was going to let himself dwell on that thought for very long.

He reluctantly moved his hand off of his face so he could see where he was going as he went to sit at the bar, watching as Joker turned his focus back to the stove with a level of casual familiarity that was almost jarring. For a moment, it almost didn’t feel like he was sitting in the apartment of his long-time enemy--it just felt like he was hanging out with a friend after spending the night.

It was weird, and unnerving, and Ryuji wasn’t entirely sure whether he liked the feeling or not.

Joker setting down a plate of curry in front of him pulled him from his thoughts, and he had a split-second of hesitation (was the food drugged? Poisoned? No, Joker wasn’t that kind of person, Ryuji knew that) before he picked up his spoon and dug in, immediately letting out a noise of pleased surprise as he began shoveling the food into his mouth with gusto.

Who would’ve thought that Joker would be such a good cook?

He was hardly even aware of the soft laughter that left Joker’s lips in response, nor was he aware of Joker moving to sit down across from him at the island with his own helping of food until Ryuji had already finished his plate down to the last grain of rice.

“Dude, that was _delicious_ ,” Ryuji said, the unfiltered praise slipping out before his brain could catch up with his mouth--not that he had it in him to retract the compliment as he saw Joker’s expression brighten up, his pleased, almost shy smile a far cry from his usual pompous grin.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Joker replied. “There’s plenty more, if you’d like seconds.”

“Definitely,” Ryuji said, before waving Joker off as he moved to stand up. “It’s fine, I can get it. You cooked, least I can do is help myself.”

Joker blinked, clearly caught off-guard as Ryuji brought his plate over to the stove and filled it back up with a second helping of food as if he lived here, like it was the most natural thing to do--and he couldn’t help the soft, incredulous laughter that slipped out, even as the sound pulled Ryuji’s gaze over to him.

“Sorry, I just… you’re really something else, Skull.”

Ryuji frowned slightly, unsure of how to take the statement or the laughter, and he remained quiet as he moved to sit back down with his plate in hand before finally speaking with a tinge of embarrassment. “... Ryuji.”

“Hm?”

“Ryuji,” he repeated, avoiding Joker’s gaze and ignoring the light heat in his cheeks. “I’m not in costume or anything, so… it feels weird, being called ‘Skull’.”

It was admittedly a bit of a dangerous move, revealing his name, but… well, like he said, he was already out of costume, so it wasn’t like he had much left to hide--and he’d only given his first name, so it couldn’t be _that_ dangerous, right? It wasn’t like he was giving the guy every last personal detail about him just by mentioning his first name.

Joker seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Ryuji as his expression shifted from confusion to understanding, before softening in a smile.

“Alright, Ryuji,” he agreed (and Ryuji pointedly ignored the way his heart stuttered in his chest at the sound of Joker’s smooth voice saying his name, instead focusing on shoveling some more curry into his mouth--maybe he could just pass off the darkening color in his cheeks as the curry being spicy). “In that case, you can call me Akira. No sense in hiding behind codenames when our masks are already off, right?”

“‘Akira’, huh…,” Ryuji repeated, and though it was probably just a trick of the light, he swore he saw Jok-- _Akira’s_ face pinken the slightest bit in response. “Y’know, ‘s weird, but like… I never really pictured you as a normal person.” When Akira raised an eyebrow at him, Ryuji hastily backpedaled in embarrassment, belatedly realizing that he’d phrased what he was trying to say poorly. “Not like that, I meant like… someone with a regular name, leading a regular life, y’know?”

“You mean like heroes do?” Akira replied dryly, chuckling as Ryuji winced in response. “Believe it or not, _Ryuji_ , most villains are walking around in broad daylight without you or any other hero even realizing.”

“That’s… I guess you’re right, but….” Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck, looking conflicted.

On the one hand, he was so used to facing down over-the-top villains with powers and costumes and ridiculous names--yet on the other hand, he knew from experience that most of the villains that Akira had helped bring to light had appeared to be normal people to him and the rest of his team, so Akira’s claim wasn’t exactly far off the mark. Who even knew how many people he walked by in the street were actually heartless assholes taking advantage of people weaker than them?

It was unsettling to think about, so Ryuji did what he did best: push things aside and avoid thinking altogether.

“Anyway, so… what exactly do you do, then? ‘sides running around in that crazy outfit of yours giving us a headache every other night?” Ryuji teased lightly.

Akira huffed, though there was a hint of playful amusement in his eyes. “Oh, as if your outfits are any less crazy? At least mine has _style_ and _class_ , like a true phantom thief.” Before Ryuji could come back with a retort, he added, “But as for what I do… I work part-time at the florist in the underground mall.”

“Wait, _seriously?_ ” Ryuji stared at Akira as if he’d grown a second head--which he might as well have, after saying with a straight face that he, one of the most well-known villains in Tokyo, spent his days working at a hole-in-the-wall _flower shop_.

As if everything last night and today hadn’t already turned Ryuji’s thoughts on their head several times over.

“Why, is there something wrong with that?”

Ryuji jumped slightly and quickly waved his hands. “No way, dude, it’s cool! I just… wasn’t expecting that, that’s all.” Before he could think too hard about it, he found himself adding, “It… kinda suits you, though, now that I think about it.”

Akira blinked, clearly caught off-guard, and--oh, now that was _definitely_ a blush on his face. Huh. So the smug and in-control Joker was capable of getting flustered after all.

Not that Ryuji had any plans to go out of his way to fluster him, of course, but it was just… good to know. It meant the pompous bastard wasn’t perfect after all, and it absolutely did _not_ mean anything more than that.

“Thank you? I think?” Akira answered hesitantly, absentmindedly toying with his bangs as he struggled to hold Ryuji’s gaze despite his obvious embarrassment. Clearly trying to regain control of the situation, he hardened his expression slightly as he continued to speak. “In any case, you’ve had your turn to ask questions, so now I think it’s only fair I ask something in return.”

Ryuji tensed up in response, reflexively bracing himself even as he nodded.

Joker-- _Akira_ wouldn’t force him to give up information about his teammates in exchange for everything he’d done for Ryuji, would he? He had a gut feeling that Akira wouldn’t do that, and he really, _really_ wanted to trust that feeling despite how utterly, naively idiotic it was of him to _want_ to trust someone that he’d spent so much time fighting against, but he forced himself to prepare for whatever Akira was about to ask regardless.

If he requested any sensitive information, Ryuji would refuse to talk and get the hell out of here, no matter how rude it might be to run off on someone that had pretty much saved his life just last night. His teammates were like family to him, and he would never sell them out no matter what.

Seeming to sense where Ryuji’s thoughts were headed, Akira’s expression softened in a mixture of reassurance and the slightest hint of sadness, immediately causing a rush of guilt to twist Ryuji’s stomach even if he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“I just want to know what happened to you last night. I tried to ask you when you arrived, but you weren’t coherent enough to give me a proper answer.”

Ryuji tensed--this wasn’t exactly the kind of question he’d been bracing himself for, nor did he understand why Akira wanted this information, but….

Well, it wasn’t exactly anything confidential, and Akira _had_ helped him, so the least Ryuji could do was explain why the hell he’d ended up so roughed up in the first place.

“Those fucking Yaldabaoth cultists ambushed me,” Ryuji replied, his expression immediately darkening in a mixture of indignant anger and frustration at the memory. “I was off for the day, and they moved in before I even realized I was surrounded--they covered my nose and mouth, and stabbed some needles or some shit into the side of my neck, and then….”

Ryuji trailed off, hardly even aware of the shudder that wracked his frame as he recalled bits and pieces: being dragged off against his will, the feeling of utter _powerlessness_ as he fought to try and free himself from the bindings that they forced onto him, the _pain_ as his defenseless body was kicked and cut and beaten over and over and over until all he could see was red--

Hands gently gripping his own startled Ryuji out of his mind and back into focus, where he found Akira watching him with a mixture of kind understanding and muted fury, his grip on Ryuji’s shaking hands being Ryuji’s only tether to reality as he forced himself to take a few deep, shaky breaths.

“That’s it, you’re okay, just breathe,” Akira murmured encouragingly, the smoothness of Joker’s assured tone combined with the softness of Akira’s comforting words creating a dichotomy that, oddly enough, eased Ryuji’s residual panic and helped him relax.

“S-- Sorry,” Ryuji just barely got out, shame quickly taking the place of relief as he glanced away in chagrin--and yet Akira continued to hold his hands anyway, his thumbs rubbing gentle, soothing circles against his skin.

Ryuji couldn’t bring himself to tell Akira to stop, no matter how flustered the gesture made him.

What kind of villain comforted a hero? What kind of hero was pathetic enough to need to be comforted by a villain, for that matter?

This was all kinds of wrong, yet here they were.

“I can only imagine how terrifying it must have been,” Akira murmured, and for a moment Ryuji thought he was mocking him--but no, there was nothing but genuine sympathy in Akira’s gaze, the expression immediately making Ryuji’s face turn an even brighter red than before.

Akira’s next words didn’t exactly help Ryuji’s flustered state, either.

“I want you to stay here with me.”

Despite not eating nor drinking anything, Ryuji still found himself choking, even as he shakily replied, “Wha-- _why??_ I-I can’t just-- My teammates are already gonna kill me when they find out where I’ve been, a-and besides I’m already recovered enough to walk around so--”

“But you’re not recovered enough to fight,” Akira pointed out, and much to Ryuji’s annoyance, he was right--if he tried to go out there with the rest of his team now, he’d only slow them down and put himself and the rest of them in danger. Honestly, even moving around was a bit painful, let alone having to run and jump and throw his whole weight into beating down bad guys.

Still….

“Dude, I’ll just go home and rest, then,” he replied weakly.

Akira frowned. “Do you really think that’s a good idea, in your state?” When Ryuji looked at him in confusion, he moved one of his hands off of Ryuji’s in order to massage the bridge of his nose from under his glasses with a drawn-out, exasperated sigh. “Ryuji… think about it--you were already ambushed once, when you were in perfect shape. Do you really want to sit around, completely vulnerable, and chance those cultists finding you again?” Softening his expression, he added, “It’s safest for you to stay here and recover--the last place they would ever think to look for a hero is at a villain’s apartment, right?”

“That… makes sense, I guess,” Ryuji reluctantly conceded. He eyed Akira warily as he continued, “But you’re seriously fine with me just… crashing here? Is there a catch or something?”

Akira chuckled. “No catch, I swear.” He smiled as he added, “Think about it this way: neither of us are wearing masks right now, right? Which means this isn’t Joker’s apartment, and you aren’t staying here as Skull. I’m just Akira, offering you, Ryuji, a safe place to rest. Alright?”

Despite the slight hints of embarrassed trepidation that lingered inside him, Ryuji found himself nodding in agreement.

Even if it was a bit odd to think about… well, like Akira said--he’d been the one to come to Akira for help, even if he’d been drugged up when he made the decision, so was it really that odd for Akira to be continuing to offer his assistance? After all, he already knew that Akira wasn’t heartless, otherwise he never would have let Ryuji in to begin with (or worse, he would have hurt or even killed Ryuji while he was completely vulnerable and defenseless).

“Can I, uh… borrow your phone, at least? Those bastards busted mine, and my team’s probably worried sick by now….”

Akira let go of Ryuji’s hand (which Ryuji had honestly forgotten he’d been holding this whole time, which was just about as embarrassing as the realization that he was already missing the added warmth from their joined hands) so he could reach into his pocket, pulling out a cell phone and setting it in front of Ryuji before standing up.

“It’s a burner phone, though knowing Oracle I’m sure she’ll be able to track it anyway,” Akira said wryly. “Still, better to be safe than sorry. I’d rather not have your entire team breaking down my door to get to you before you can finish explaining things to them, no offense.”

Ryuji laughed nervously. “Uh… yeah, that prolly wouldn’t be good for either of us right about now, huh.”

“Probably,” Akira agreed with a hint of amusement as he took both of their empty plates into the kitchen. As he began to clean up, he called over his shoulder, “I’m going to head out after I finish cleaning the kitchen, so if you’d like, you can make any phone calls you have to make once I’m gone, that way you have some privacy to speak.”

Ryuji let out a quiet, relieved sigh at that, getting up out of his seat as well so he wouldn't be in Akira's way. “Thanks,” he replied, before realization belatedly hit him. “Wait, hold on--you’re not going out on another heist or something, are you?”

Akira smirked. “I’m not Joker here, remember? I can’t answer that.”

Ryuji shot him an annoyed look, but conceded that--for once, no matter how selfish it was of him--he really didn’t want to know what sort of trouble Joker was planning on causing this time.

Honestly, right now all he wanted to do was sleep until his body stopped hurting and his strength came back.

“You can feel free to take a shower and borrow a fresh pair of clothes, too, if you’d like,” Akira offered after a moment as he continued moving around the apartment, completely unbothered as he briefly caught sight of Ryuji not-so-subtly poking around the living room with undisguised curiosity while Akira was distracted. “And of course, you’ll be taking the bed until you’ve recovered--no arguments,” he added, not even needing to look over at Ryuji to know that he was already preparing to give voice to his protests. “You need proper rest, and you won’t be able to sleep well if you have to sleep on the sofa.”

Ryuji let out a long, irritated breath as he ran a hand through his hair before finally giving in with a petulant, muttered “ _Fine_.”

At least Akira seemed pleased, even if he was the one that was going to be stuck sleeping on the sofa in his own apartment.

Weirdo. Were all villains this weird in their normal life, or was it just Akira?

… It was probably just Akira.

Not that Ryuji was complaining--far from it, if he was being honest (which he absolutely would _not_ be, at least not anywhere outside the privacy of his own mind, and even there he was reluctant to acknowledge the fact that he felt far less animosity towards Akira than what he felt towards every other villain he’d ever encountered in his life).

It was only when Akira gathered a small yet sturdy bag and began to make his way towards the front door that Ryuji found his voice once more, the words slipping out before he could really think as he looked over at Akira from where he’d plopped himself down on the sofa in exhaustion.

“I’m sorry.”

Akira paused, caught off-guard by the unexpected apology, before glancing over at Ryuji in a mixture of confusion and sympathy. “Ryuji, you don’t have to apologize for any of this--”

“Not-- not for this,” Ryuji replied, unable to bring himself to look at Akira out of embarrassment. “I mean yeah I feel bad about this too, but like… about all the other times we fought, ‘n’ stuff. I still don’t really agree with how you do things, but… well, you’ve helped me out--helped _us_ out , my team, I mean--a lot whether you meant to or not, and like… I mean shit, hardly a week or two ago I just fought you ‘cuz I jumped to conclusions ‘n’ thought you were trying to ambush me, I didn’t even stop to think, I just _assumed_ ‘cuz you’re a villain-- but even after that, you’re still doing all of this to help me anyway, and I just….” Finally, Ryuji forced his gaze up just enough to look Akira in the eye as he said, “I’m sorry, and… thanks, I guess.”

Even despite his mortification and the huge sting to his pride, Ryuji could at least feel glad that he’d managed to throw off the normally composed and unflappable Joker, reducing him to a stunned, flustered statue of a man as Akira stared at him in shock, as if Ryuji had just spoken a foreign language to him.

When Akira snapped out of it and began to laugh, however, Ryuji immediately wished he’d just kept his mouth shut and hadn’t said anything.

“Shut up!! Stop laughing, dammit!!” He grabbed one of the pillows off of the sofa and threw it at Akira in flustered mortification, the pain in his arm (and the rest of his body) from the sharp movement feeling well-worth it as the pillow hit Akira directly in the face, though it didn’t do much to stifle his laughter.

“Sorry, sorry, I just….” Akira trailed off for a moment, approaching the sofa with the pillow in hand and setting it down before--to Ryuji’s embarrassed alarm--reaching out to cup the side of his face with a soft smile. “You really are something else, Ryuji.”

Hearing Akira echo his own previous statement was bad enough as it was, but hearing his own name instead of “Skull” was just… why the hell was he getting so flustered over this? It made no _sense_ , damn it--and the only response he could come up with was to swat Akira’s hand away in self-conscious embarrassment with a weak glare still on his face.

Akira seemed completely unperturbed by Ryuji swatting his hand away, a satisfied smirk replacing his gentle smile--and to Ryuji’s further irritation, even _that_ was making his heart pound against his rib cage hard enough that he was half expecting to see heart-shaped bruises forming on his chest.

(Not that they’d be very visible around all the other bruises on his chest right now, but his point still stood.)

“Get some rest,” Akira said as he straightened back up, as if he hadn’t just flustered Ryuji badly enough to make all the blood in Ryuji’s body relocate to his face (most likely on purpose, too, the smug bastard).

Ryuji had no response to give that wasn’t a petulant, childish retort that would probably do more to give away whatever weird, conflicting feelings he was going through right now than actually making Akira feel insulted in any way, and so all he could do was watch as Akira left the apartment to raise god-knows what sort of hell, before letting out a long, suffering groan and grabbing the nearest pillow to shove his face into in hopes of muffling the miserable sound.

When he realized it was the same pillow that hit Akira’s face, most likely in the same spot that Ryuji now had his own face buried in knowing his luck, all he could do was groan even louder, his face burning all the way to the tips of his ears.

He had no idea how long it would take for his injuries to recover, but no matter whether it was a month or a week or even a single day, all Ryuji knew for sure right now was that he was totally, completely, utterly fucked.

Panther and Oracle were never going to let him live this down, were they?

Provided there was anything left of him for them to tease by the time Queen was through scolding him.

With a drawn-out sigh, Ryuji dropped the pillow onto his stomach, opened up Akira’s burner phone, and braced himself for what would no doubt be a very painful, very embarrassing phone call.

* * *

Akira strolled down the nearest alleyway in his Joker outfit, sticking to the shadows--and had he not been on the lookout, he would have been giddily humming to himself the whole way.

Who would have ever thought that Skull--that _Ryuji_ \--would fall into his lap like such a beautifully-wrapped gift, just for him?

And to think that Ryuji had come to him all on his own… it made Akira’s heart soar just to remember the utter _trust_ that Ryuji had radiated in his vulnerable state as he rested with his head against Akira’s chest.

Not to mention the fact that Ryuji had agreed to stay with him until he recovered from his injuries--and not that Akira was wishing any ill on Ryuji, but he found himself hoping regardless that Ryuji’s injuries would last long enough for Ryuji to live with him for as much time as humanly possible.

That was something to worry about in the future, though. Right now, he had a job to do, and his targets were in sight.

Normally Akira steered clear of Yaldabaoth’s cult fanatics, but now?

Akira grinned darkly in anticipation as he eyed the oblivious idiots, adjusting his gloves and searching for the perfect opening to strike.

He wasn’t normally one for such straightforward violence, but considering the circumstances, it was only fair.

Akira’s eyes gleamed in the darkness, outshining even the polished blade of his knife as he silently stalked towards his unsuspecting prey.

After all, they’d dared to hurt Skull, to hurt _Ryuji_ , the thieving hero that had stolen Akira’s heart--it was only right for Akira to show them the same world of pain that they had put Ryuji through, and it was only fair that he enjoyed it just as thoroughly as they had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, Ryuji's week-long birthday celebration comes to an end ;_; I hope everyone enjoyed the fics!! Thank you to everyone who read, commented, kudo'd , bookmarked, or even just stopped by for a quick look ;u; Now I'm off to work on the Pegoryu week prompts for August lmao


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